


Eli's First Promotion: Part Three

by ProxyWars



Series: -chanting- Thranto! Thranto! Thranto! [4]
Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 22:10:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20298736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProxyWars/pseuds/ProxyWars
Summary: A year since Eli's promotion to Lieutenant Commander, he finds himself a much different man. His own emotions are no shock to him, but perhaps the stoic Chiss is not so capable at acknowledging his own emotions.First chapter is not explicit but the rest have a high likelihood so the rating is there.





	Eli's First Promotion: Part Three

~One Year Later~

Eli was supposed to be resting but his mind was still too full. He wasn’t scheduled to return to duty until tomorrow, having had a severe concussion and bruised internal organs to add to his list of injuries. He sat up and felt his shirt cling to the still weeping wound on his chest.

Eli knew he should have stayed in the med bay. He’d let the droid treat the head injury and then he’d bailed. He was embarrassed enough as it was without his injuries being _coddled_.

The door chimed and Eli groaned.

He knew he was gonna cop it when Thrawn found out he’d skipped out of med bay, but he thought he’d have another day to fix himself up at least. He quickly pulled the stained shirt off over his head and stuffed it under the bed covers, scrambled around to find a clean one, managing to pull it down over his head just as the door slid open. Eli grumbled to himself that he shouldn’t have given Thrawn unfiltered access to his space when the Chiss entered, his eyes glowing brightly in the half light.

They stared at each other for a long time.

“I’m glad you returned safely, Commander.”

Eli smirked and raised an eyebrow, “You know i always come throguh.” But Thrawn seemed suddenly distant. Something wasn’t right.

Thrawn was practically _gloomy_. His smile slipped a little, “I foresee you will continue to do so, Commander.”

“They’re making you an Admiral, aren’t they?” Eli said brightly.

Thrawn paused in mild surprise before a slight smile tugged at his lips, “Yes. I am taking over Opathan’s fleet... I… simply wanted you to know, I will not abuse this power to keep you in my service… I will ensure you keep all benefits and-”

“Are you _firing_ me?”

Thrawn blinked, “No.”

“Is High Command transferring me?”

“Not that I am aware.”

“…Then what the kriff are you babbling about?”

Eli watched his adams apple bob as Thrawn swallowed hard. “Nothing of any great importance. I should let you rest, Commander.” Then he nodded curtly and turned to leave.

Eli grabbed Thrawn’s arm before he walked away, “Wait!”

Thrawn paused but didn’t turn back.

“You don’t get to just walk away from me after saying _that_. I know you too well, Thrawn. You can’t just bring all that out into the open again and expect me not to ask about it.”

Thrawn slowly turned to face him, “I know that now you have rank and recognition there are myriad opportunities available to you. I am soon to be in a position of power high enough to have you assigned almost anywhere you wish.”

Eli chuckled and scratched the back of his head, wincing as the flesh around the partially healed cut on his chest strained.

“Thrawn you’re overthinking.”

Thrawn dropped his gaze to Eli’s chest, one eyebrow raised, then his face became passive again. Blinking slowly, he asked, “Is that blood?” in a calm matter-of-fact tone.

Eli stilled, then cleared his throat, “… No?”

Thrawn raised an eyebrow, “I believe that was not a question that should have been answered with another question, _Commander_.” Thrawn’s eyes then flickered to the blood-stained t-shirt half hidden under the cover of Elis bed. “Med bay.” He ordered, but he probably knew it was pointless.

“Nope.” Eli said assuredly. Making sure Thrawn could hear the defiance in his voice.

Thrawn drew in and slowly released a calming breath. “Take off your shirt.”

Eli’s brain stuttered.

They had taken to caring for each other’s wounds in the academy when they found the med-droid’s care of Thrawn to be… at best sub-par, and at worst life threatening. But he had never gotten used to the feeling of Thrawn’s cool hands on his skin.

“You are _obviously_ not taking care of that wound, Commander.” He gestured to the small spreading blotch on Eli’s shirt. “Why you chose to be difficult in this regard I will never understand.” He took off his belt and his tunic, folding it neatly out of the way over Eli’s desk chair so it would not be stained, then going to the ‘fresher for the med kit he knew was there.

Eli had a habit of not accepting medical treatment for minor injuries out of solidarity for Thrawn. To Thrawn’s constant frustration.

Eli plopped himself down on the bed and pulled his shirt off as Thrawn returned. “It’s not that bad.”

“It will scar.”

“_It’s not that bad_.”

“You did not _need_ to let it scar.”

“It’s not a big deal. You’ve got _plenty_ of scars.”

“Because I come from a place where bacta was not available. You are not so deprived.” Thrawn said as he began cleaning away the dried blood.

“Don’t make such a fuss.”

“You do not need to suffer to prove yourself.”

“_Stars!_ Would you let it go?... OW!”

“There was a minute piece of shrapnel in the wound, I removed it, here” he offered the small shiny splinter to Eli. “And I will not ‘let it go’ I do not understand why you would not take advantage of your privilege to not be so disfigured.”

Eli knew all of Thrawn’s scars. They had shared quarters long enough that there were very few aesthetic mysteries left to each other. Eli knew that his scars were probably the only thing Thrawn was embarrassed of, a physical reminder of those times where he felt like he had failed.

Eli sighed, “_Disfigured_? Thrawn.” He said exasperated, “You’re _well aware_ that whenever people get a good glimpse of you in the gym they practically _seize_ with awe. And the scars don’t do anything to harm your ‘powerful warrior’ persona.” He chuckled and rolled his eyes.

“I do not care what _they_ think of me, or my body.” Thrawn said quietly. His voice was steady and distant, as if distracted by his work, but Eli noticed the hand Thrawn kept on his shoulder, holding him still, gripped a little tighter.

He waited, but Thrawn kept working diligently on the cut. When he turned to get a bacta patch, Eli noticed an identical patch peeking out beneath the collar of Thrawn’s undershirt.

“You’re injured! You kriffing hypocrite!” Eli chuckled. “Who patched you up?”

“I did.” Thrawn said, sounding slightly indignant. 

“Oh stars, you better let me have a look at it then.” Eli shook his head, Thrawn was not particularly skilled at field medicine and the injury was near the center of his back, making it hard to reach and very difficult to keep clean.

Eli was rewarded with a silent nod, Thrawn’s way of acquiescing without _giving_ an inch. That was how they worked, they had somehow built an understanding of who would fold and when. Somehow, even though there were miles between them in rank, they had never changed the way they related to each other since the academy.

But tonight, Eli felt electrified, and as Thrawn pulled off his undershirt he found himself wishing they _could_.

If only once, just to know what it was like.

He gently peeled the patch off, “… You were worried about _me!_?” Eli nearly choked, “You’ve been _kriffing_ _shot _Thrawn! Why didn’t you deal with this sooner?”

“As you can see, I did deal with it.”

“Don’t gimme that krayt spit. You know you should have let me see to it, or at least someone else.”

“You were too injured; I did not wish to-”

“You could have trusted Faro.”

“Perhaps.”

Eli cleaned the partially healed wound and covered it with a fresh bacta patch, but his fingertips lingered on the cerulean skin longer than they should have. Embarrassed, he felt the blush creep right up his throat and over his cheeks.

Thrawn faced him with a gentle smile on his lips, “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Eli coughed quickly. “How’s your shoulder?”

Thrawn stilled, surprised that Eli had noticed the slight favouring of his left arm, “Somewhat stiff. You might have missed the fall I took after your incapacitation.”

Eli grimaced, “No I saw it.” He gestured for Thrawn to turn back around and he laid his hands where he knew the knot would be, exactly where it always was. “That guy pulled you down a three-metre drop, it was just as well you landed on him or it might have dislocated again.”

“Yes, but you were no longer in harm’s way.”

Eli ran his hands over the strong muscles that ran down Thrawn’s spine and he flinched, in the half light Eli could just see the fading green/purple discoloration of a large bruise running horizontally across his back. He had obviously been hit with a long instrument, a stick or a pipe perhaps, while they had been in the literal rats nest that had been their last mission.

“How is your back?” Thrawn asked nonchalantly. Eli had a few old injuries of his own.

He cleared his throat, “It’s got a twinge going on if I lean too far back, but it’ll be alright in a few days.”

Thrawn half turned to look at him with raised eyebrows.

“Fine yes ok.” He knew it would be better _now_ if he let Thrawn wring some of the knots and tension out of him. He flopped down onto the bed on his front while Thrawn knelt at his side keeping his booted feet off the covers.

~

Thrawn felt the cool expanse of skin under his hands, something he had never quite gotten used to. The usually slow rhythm of the human heart beat and lower core temperature always gave Thrawn the impression that Eli was entirely relaxed when they did this. Which they had been doing more and more often over the last few weeks.

Though some of the muscles ticked with minute spasms as he kneaded the tension out of Vanto’s lower back he felt the overall lessening of strain the man was keeping in his core. Inevitable in their line of work, Thrawn knew that the physical touch of a trusted companion after a battle could go a long way to reducing future complications, regardless of what Imperial propriety might think of the arrangement.

Eli had been hurt.

Thrawn had watched it happen.

Then Thrawn had been hurt, and Eli had been forced to watch, in a brief moment of consciousness.

They both needed to be reminded that the other was alright.

Whole.

He felt a spasm beneath his fingers again and Eli winced.

Thrawn closed his eyes, he always had a better understanding of what was going on in Vanto’s muscles when he focused completely on the varying density just beneath the skin.

He moved his hands up Vanto’s back, as he pressed firmly into the lower spade muscles Eli groaned. Thrawn stilled his hands, “Painful?”

“Mmmm, but isss good.” Came the mumbled reply.

Thrawn continued to press his thumbs firmly into the knots he knew would be there, drawing another groan or hiss of surprise from the other man depending on the various sensitivity. As he ran his thumbs up the back of Vanto’s neck, he heard a sigh and opened his eyes to watch the golden skin over flexing muscles as he arched his back into the obviously pleasurable pressure Thrawn was applying.

Thrawn felt a twitch in his groin as excitement flooded through him. He set it aside, knowing that although he shouldn’t, when he returned to his own quarters he would be alleviating that particular need.

“Dnnn stop. Mmm nearly sleep.”

He returned to working the knots from near Vanto’s spine. His focus drifted to the still holos now mounted more permanently on the wall above the bed. He noticed a few new ones and studied them, now absently working his hands over Vanto’s back.

Then he felt Eli shift and turn. “This is getting ridiculous Thrawn.”

“Come again?”

“This.” He gestured to the fact they were sitting very close together… on his bed… shirtless. “Is ridiculous. Are you gonna come out with it or what?”

Thrawn felt his pulse thrumming through his body, could feel it in his _teeth_ his heart was hammering so hard against his ribs.

“I’m not sure what you-”

“Krayt spit. You’ve been acting weird for ages. I know something is going on with you. I’m pretty sure I know what it is but I think it’s best if you come to your own realisations. So, do you not think there’s anything strange about what we’re doing here? Did you ever have a moment like this with Cheno? Or what about Faro? Or anyone else we know?”

There was a long pause, “I suppose not.”

“So, can we just be honest?” Initially Eli figured it was because he was finally climbing the ladder, that Thrawn felt comfortable sharing moments like these because Eli _was _somebody now.

Such quiet moments, almost too intimate.

_Certainly,_ too intimate for an _Admiral_ and his _direct_ _subordinate_.

Thrawn’s face dropped, “I’m sorry Eli, that I… can’t.” The way Thrawn spoke, quietly and so forlorn, his shoulders heavy with unshielded regret and disappointment, made Eli hold his breath.

Thrawn held his gaze, “I… couldn’t.”

Comprehension and courage suddenly flooded through him. He knew Thrawn would _never_ take the leap, never mind how much he wanted to. Because if Thrawn made the first move, it would immediately undo the spell that made him who he was.

Untouchable. Unreachable. Incorruptible.

Except he wasn’t. He was apparently still susceptible to connection, and attraction.

Eli’s hand felt like it was made of lead as he lifted it to thread their fingers together.

“It’s okay.” Eli whispered.

Thrawn stared at him.

“It’s. Okay.” Eli said with conviction, drawing Thrawn gently towards him.

Thrawn didn’t pull away.

Eli propped himself up on one arm as he drew the other man in, holding his breath he slowly closed the distance, giving Thrawn time to change his mind if he wished.

The kiss was brief and almost imperceptibly soft.

Their eyes met as they pulled back and Eli knew there was no doubt left.

Thrawn’s whole body seemed to crumble beneath his own weight, the tension leaving his system all at once. There was gratitude in those bright eyes, and Eli held his gaze with as much confidence as he could.

The sensation was strange, Thrawn was so… _exposed_, and _Eli_ was the one holding them together. The tether in the dark.

Suddenly Eli’s whole world tilted as hands cupped his cheeks. Their lips colliding again in a dizzying wave of long denied infatuation and need as Thrawn nipped at his lower lip hungrily.

Eli eased backwards to lay back on the bed.

“No!” Thrawn said quickly, too quickly.

But the spell was broken, for them both, Eli knew. 

There was no going back.

Eli saw Thrawn’s composure slip for a moment, realisation creeping suddenly into his misty eyes. “This is… wrong.”

“Yes.” Eli hissed. “But I don’t care anymore.”

“They’ll punish us _both_ Eli.” Thrawn reached out and pressed him away a few inches, but didn’t extricate himself from Eli’s grip. “I cannot let them destroy you, not for this.”

Eli ran a hand through Thrawn’s thick dark hair, “You still have a lot to learn about humans.” Eli chuckled, “I. Don’t. Care. Anymore. The only reason I didn’t _walk_ when we found that Wookie slave ship was _you_. Thrawn, _this_ is where I’m supposed to be. At _your_ side, where I know I can do some good.”

“We will be discovered.”

Eli shrugged, “Then we’ll deal with that if it happens.”

“But-”

Eli chuckled and shook his head, “Thrawn take a second to be a little bit self-aware. What are you going to regret more in the morning? Staying with me? Or leaving?”

A light purple blush crept into the edge of Thrawn’s cheeks and forehead shields. Eli felt his shoulders rise and fall more rapidly under his hands before Thrawn pressed his forehead against Eli’s, he could feel the conflict in the furrows of his brow, then he pulled away.

“No!” he nearly hissed as he turned his back on Eli. “This is _trivial_ in comparison to what must be done. I cannot allow anything to jeopardise _either_of our positions.”

Walking to the door he left without another word.

~

Thrawn found himself in the cool corridor before he got his breathing under control. The light breeze on his torso from the ventilation helped him focus as he leaned his head back against the frigid metal wall. He heard distant footsteps and was immediately brought back to harsh reality.

He realised he’d left his tunic and rank plaque in Eli’s quarters. He couldn’t return for it now, not with the two navy troopers on patrol who were now turning the corner. Thrawn just had time to duck into his own quarters before he came into view of the pair.

His breathing was heavy again after the mild adrenaline rush of nearly being caught half clothed in the corridor between his and his subordinate’s room.

_His subordinate. The person he had almost complete control over while on his vessel._

Thrawn took three deep breaths to steady himself.

He would speak privately to Commander Vanto and they would deal with this incident the way they did with all things. Through logical discussion and planning. They would acknowledge their feelings, and if Eli decided he no longer wanted to be Thrawn’s aide, Thrawn would organise for his transfer. If not, they would simply continue as normal.

He would keep a better check on himself.

It was _his _responsibility.

If it came out, which he knew it likely _would_ if they progressed, Eli would be ruined and so would Thrawn. He had suspected the Ascendancy was still keeping an eye on him from a distance, and if he was discharged from the military for violating his direct subordinate, he would lose more than just his position in the Imperial machine.

His own people would lose their respect for him too.

He showered and went to bed, but trying to wash the guilt and shame out of his bones was impossible.

Thrawn went to bed with an aching echo in his chest that threatened to consume him.

_Let Eli go._


End file.
